#steelworkers

[henk-heijmans]

British wartime steelworkers take a cigarette break, ca. 1942 - by Harry Todd, English

[smbhax]

Action Comics #108, May 1947. Jack Burnley cover pencils, Stan Kaye inks, Jack Adler colors.

Info from Grand Comics Database

[electronicsquid]

DIY swimming pool for the children of steelworkers

(Arthur Rothstein. 1938)

[blondebrainpowered]

Steelworkers, 2009

Artist: Anthony Hopkins

[semioticapocalypse]

W. Eugene Smith. Steelworkers. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. 1955

I Am Collective Memories   •    Follow me, — says Visual Ratatosk

[todaysdocument]

Letter from Edward Kephart to Charlton Ogburn Concerning Dissatisfaction in the Ranks of Steelworkers About the Labor Relations Steel Board

Record Group 9: Records of the National Recovery AdministrationSeries: General Subject FilesFile Unit: Carnegie Steel Co., McDonald Plant [1/2]

[underlined] COPY [/underlined] BUCKEYE LODGE, NO. [handwritten check mark]

174, OHIO

Gieard, Ohio, Dec. 20, 1934

Mr. Charlton Ogburn,

Union Trust Building,

Washington, D. C.

Dear Mr. Ogburn:

Much interest has been shown by our members and other workmen around this district in your negotiations with the Steel Industry. I will try to give you a picture of the situation here.

To begin with, the excellent impression made on our members, including adjacent lodges, by the Steel Board is fast being dispelled. No decisions, after being promised, particularly in discrimination cases is the largest cause. It is becoming increasingly apparent that some serious and mysterious (to us) complication has arisen. I cold, but will not, elaborate on this phase.

Due to the extended delay, the more radically minded leaders are becoming to exert a stronger influence. Unless at least partial satisfaction is obtained, the certainty of an extremely bitter and violent strike is almost sure to follow next spring. Efforts are being made to secure the cooperation of the unemployed who also are in a most inflammable frame of mind. The Communists have abandoned their Union and have instructed their members to join the Amalgamated. This is largely offset, however, by sympathetic if weak willed non members who would cooperate if a strike is called. More anon.

The situation has been so kaleidoscopic that definite recommendations regarding a compromise have been very difficult to determine. In my chat with Spang, I very definitely received the impression that definite, concrete and [underlined] advertisable [/underlined] concessions must be obtained. However, he seemed inclined to await a decision of the court, no matter how long, if the majority rule decision seemed to have a good chance of being sustained.

My state of mind is such that I must have, if at all possible, some clarification on the following points.

Please understand, of course, that my attitude is one of perplexity and not of criticism. Primarily, we are at a loss to understand the position of the board in undertaking to effect a so-called compromise without passing on [complete transcription at link]

[gender0bender]

Descriptions of current and former steelworker lesbians interviewed for the book Steel closets : voices of gay, lesbian, and transgender steelworker by Anne Belay, available on the Internet Archive

Transcript:

Erin, interviewed in January 2010. A bit sloping in the shoulders and tentative in her demeanor. She wore an embroidered V-neck sweater. Probably in her early fifties.

Fern, interviewed on January 29, 2010. She was a slim Asian woman with short, spiked hair and a ready, flirtatious smile. Though tiny, she had a butch swag- ger to her walk and told stories revealing an intense pride in her work. I would guess she was in her mid-thirties.

Gail, interviewed on January 25, 2010. She is a short, stocky woman with neat gray hair. She wore blue jeans and a denim shirt advertising ISG (International Steel Group, the former owner of her mill). She had a warm smile and laughing eyes, and loved to tell stories. She was about sixty.

Harriet, interviewed on April 10, 2010. She is mixed Indian and Mexican, and very butch. She had black, feathered hair, and seemed to be in her late forties. Her boots and leather jacket had many zippers.

Isabel, interviewed in June 2010. Younger (mid-twenties) than most of the nar- rators, with a presentation somewhere between hipster and goth. She was skinny, with hair partly black and partly hot pink. Clearly not comfortable in Northwest Indiana, she fantasized about moving elsewhere.

23. Wanda, interviewed on January 26, 2011. She wore a scrupulously butch tie, sweater, and hat, along with a Bluetooth. She was a dark-complected black woman with no visible hair. Her handshake and manner of sitting established butch domi- nance immediately, as did her sideways, knowing smile. I would guess she was in her mid to late thirties.

Xena, interviewed January 31, 2011, at her home. She wore a Steelers jersey over a thermal shirt and smoked constantly. She had a dry sense of humor and a butch presentation. She had iron gray hair. Probably in her mid-forties.

Carmen, interviewed in March 2011. In her fifties, she is a black woman with dreadlocks, who has some scarring from a burn accident at the mill. She was very reserved and held her lower jaw tensely.

Danielle, interviewed on April 25, 2011. She is a big woman, with long, straight, almost stringy hair. She wore glasses and dressed casually but with lots of makeup.

Janis, interviewed July 20, 2011, at a restaurant. She wore the jacket of union electrical workers and identified as a strong union supporter. Blonde and fit, in her fifties, she had a lively demeanor, but she refused to be recorded.

Kate, interviewed in August 2011, at a bar. Relaxed and funny, she loved to talk and was full of stories about the area, the mill, family, and life. She carried herself with confidence and had a physical presence. She had medium-length gray-blonde hair.

Lupe, interviewed September 18, 2011, at a bar. She was fairly boxy in build, with short black hair and butch mannerisms. Though she was in her mid-forties, there was something very boyish and innocent about her.

Marie, interviewed October 19, 2011, at a coffee shop in Pittsburgh. She was an older woman, many years beyond the steel mill, which showed in her body and demeanor. She had medium length hair, wore jewelry and a blazer, and was prob- ably in her sixties. When she discussed her life as a steelworker, memories began to flood back, and a butch attitude accompanied them.

[chaddavisphotography]

The long idled US Steel East Chicago Tin plant in East Chicago, Indiana.